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Description

Kuat's best rack for hauling downhill and other large bikes.

Transporting your big rigs requires a beefy rack like the Kuat NV 2 Bike Rack. This burly bike rack hold them in place as you speed through several states toward dirty downhill freedom. The front and back tire-ratcheting design secures 20- to 29-inch wheels and leaves 13 inches between bikes to protect your components.

Here's what others have to say...

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Quality Rack

Familiarity:
I've put it through the wringer

I bought the Kuat NV2 bike rack primarily because of the ability to expand its capacity and for the repair stand built into the end of the frame. I know there are other racks that don't cost as much that will expand also, but I haven't found any other rack with the repair stand. The stand is not something you use all the time but when you need it it's PRICELESS !!! To me that alone was worth the extra money and I could not be happier with this rack. I routinely carry a pair of 29er mt. bikes and the NV2 keeps them secure at highway speed and loading and unloading is quick and easy. There is some assembly with this rack but it took no time at all and was very straight forward. Don't let the price scare you away from this rack, you get what you pay for.

Comment on Uncle Mr Bill's review »

Great rack, not for city living

Familiarity:
I've put it through the wringer

The rack is great. Easy on, easy off. Secure. Keeps gas mileage high. Work station is gimicky and not wonderful, but it's better than not having one. The locking cable could be longer... you really have to work to get it through tires and bike frames.

The challenge is storing this thing when you're not using it... if you have a garage, basement or barn... you can scoff at this, but living in an apartment in the city it takes up a quarter of the bedroom.

Comment on jos3359634's review »

The Best!

Familiarity:
I've put it through the wringer

Sturdy, reliable, and easy to use. Hands down the toughest bike rack I have owned. Very easy to load bikes, can easily tilt down rack while getting in the back of the truck topper w/o unloading bikes, and easy to store upright when not in use. On the go work stand is also a major plus when on the road! Highly recommend this Kuat!

Comment on Joe Rizzo's review »

Love this Rack SO HARD

In comparing the performance of this rack to the Thule T2 - the design, quality of componants and functionaliy of the T2 is laughable. We use the T2 on the Backcountry.com vans for our van pool, and they are just garbage - TOTALLY trashed after 1.5 years of use. They are clumsy, klunky and unstable compared to this Kuat I have on my own car. I will never go back to Thule after having used this Kuat rack. It's slick, easy to use and made of much better materials.

Lexi, I'm curious what trailer hitch you have on your Subaru given the hitch sizes the Kuat comes in. The Subaru stock option for our Outback is 1.5" so I'm thinking an aftermarket 2" is the best route but figured I'd ask you since this rack is the only reason I want a hitch!

Thanks for the quick response Lexi. I would probably want the ability to add up to 4 bikes, at least carry 3, so I will have to look into what type of trailer hitch would be able to support the added weight. Hopefully it is a limit of the hitch type and not the vehicle itself.

@frac811! This NV2 is more designed to accommodate the wider tires of DH bikes. For a lower weight option (and add on) you might consider the 27lb Sherpa2! It weighs quite a bit less than this ENV, and you may be able to get away with it on your Subaru.

Just double check the weight limits for whichever hitch you decide to go with. Another thing I forgot to mention is how easy it is to lower the rack to get in and out of your trunk - very smooth and I can lift it myself (and I'm not very strong!!).

P.S. I looked around the web to try and find the weight of this NV2, and couldn't find any info. I checked our line weight for the warehouse and it was 40 lbs, so that's just an estimate, but it gives you a ballpark.

Comment on Lexi Dowdall 's photo »

Great Bike Rack...BUT????

Familiarity:
I've used it several times

Absolutely the best bike rack out there!! But the thing I can't understand at all IS: The hitch pin to attach the hitch to the receiver is 1/2" and the hole on the rack and the receiver is 5/8". I called KUAT and Backcountry, But the result was the same from both.. It is not A defect so (pretty much live with it).. I really enjoy dealing with Backcountry and I believe for the most part they do a great job.. But I think they dropped the ball here..! However they did make a refund available to me but I REALLY DO LOVE THIS RACK!! They just need to come up with a proper solution.. Which I offered A sleeve (bushing) 1/2" to 5/8". But they insist that the wrong size is OK???

I don't understand the problem. With the locking cam the rack cannot slide back and forth. There is no need for a perfect sized hitch pin to match the hitch hole. I actually like the undersized pin because it makes lining up the holes a breeze.

Comment on ken stevens's review »

Amazed

Familiarity:
I've used it several times

This is hands down the nicest rack I've personally used. I'm not saying I've tried them all out but I have tried a few and this thing is well built. The lock isn't for an overnight in the city but let's face it if a pro wants to steal your bike they will. Good theft deterrent for a run into the store, quick easy and simple. The work stand is a nice little feature that makes sense, why don't they all have this?

Comment on crash's review »

The best rack out there!

I've had the rack for a little over a year. I use the rack 3 to 4 times a week for my two mountain bikes, a 29er hardtail and a fs 26. Works great with both. Very stable and sturdy.

The only problem I had was with one of the tire arms sliding in and out without locking. Customer service agreed to send me two new arms to replace mine with the updated version, free of charge, no questions asked.

Comment on der1133343340's review »

Wellp, that was NEAT.

2 weeks ago I was rear-ended in my Subaru by a very distracted driver. Imagine my terror when I recovered from the whiplash as it dawned on me that my 10 day old Kuat rack was on the back.

Spewing expletives as I pulled over, I prepared myself for an unpleasant confrontation...

The result: SHOCK. KUAT IS THE BEST THING EVER INVENTED!

The offender's bumper had split the plastic knob used to tighten the rack and prevent sway. All things considered this miniscule amount of damage was both shocking, and pleasantly amazing.

If anything....KUAT IS DURABLE.

I contacted the rep to get the part replaced, and had a new one sitting on my porch within 3 days. The replacement took 6 minutes, and as you can see, the rear-ender broke the plastic knob and bent the metal rod that supports the knob and tightens the chassis.

Comment on Antonio O.'s review »

Amazing but heavy bike rack

Familiarity:
I've used it several times

I purchased this as a gift, here is what the user said:

I have been searching for the BEST bike rack system for my truck and this is the one! I bought the Kuat NV 2 Bike Rack (Item # KUA0003) and Kuat NV 2 Bike Add On (Item # KUA0004) together. It is super easy to install and very user friendly. The rack is very durable and holds up against the toughest terrain. The only downfall is how durable it is. The rack is heavier than most but i know my bikes are safe. I give it 5 gold stars

Comment on Arbie N's review »

Better than ANYTHING out there!

Long time bike rack user, first time KUAT user. I will NEVER go back. Why go with anything else when this is the PERFECT design?

I'd seen these around and recently asked a guy in the parking lot of a local trail to show me how they work....AMAZING! I immediately sold my THULE T2 and ordered this thing.

I really like how it drops down the front tires slightly, its comes with adapters for smaller tires and fits the 29ers just as easily. The bike stand is awesome as well to lube up the chain or do any adjustments on trips.

The locks are also long enough to wrap around both bikes easily, wheels and frame, and stick in place with magnets. Never had anything fall out of place.

If you want a rack better than Megan Fox...this will do it!

UPDATE: I'm putting this as a warning to all buyers and would-be buyers. I recently bought a brand new $7,000 bike and used this rack to transport it. My burly chains hadn't arrived yet so I was using the factory lock. I was in the store for 15 minutes and someone cut the cable and took off with my BRAND NEW bike!

I can't particularly blame the rack as it was my fault for leaving it but DO NOT trust the cable to lock up your bike. Thieves WILL cut through it like butter and you WILL lose your bike.

I wish it had a locking mechanism on the arms like the Thule but they don't, so consider this in buying. Always use a burly chain like the Kryptonite or the Onguard to lock your bikes to your hitch directly. Why? Given enough time I've heard of thieves cutting the rack off the car and running off with the entire thing.

Hey Killer SnowMan, so so so devastated to hear about your bike, that really blows :( But thank you so much for the warning. I'm going to go buy a lock before I head out on a big road trip now - that is very good advice.

Comment on Mountain Mike's review »

Glad I opted for the NV.

Familiarity:
I've put it through the wringer

After much research and thought I pulled the trigger on the KUAT NV. I looked closely at the 1up since i have several friends that have that rack. I have an old sport works that has finally seen her day. I prefer to carry bikes on the back of the car, don't have to remove wheels and no risk of ripping them off entering the garage. Very impressed with the quality from KUAT and the ease of installation. The rack is not light but much lighter than the old sport works. The mechanism to tighten the rack once inserted into receiver really works well and is very simple to use. The cable lock has been an added bonus, nice to eat lunch or run in the grocery after a ride and not have to hurry up or worry about the bikes. Yes it is pricey but is a very well made rack that should provide years of use.

Comment on racp830156's review »

Very solid, attractive & HEAVY rack

Familiarity:
I've used it once or twice and have initial impressions

Just put the NV and the Add-on together. Took longer than I thought it would. I'm a dork I guess, but the pieces are all pretty heavy and it takes a while. With both racks joined, it is heavy. I can maneuver it myself and get it on the hitch. Once on and screwed tight, it seems bullet proof. It is certainly the most attractive bike rack I have ever owned. I think this is going to work out very well.

Some slight detractions. It must come off for my garage door to shut. This is quite a bit of on and off every time I want to go for a ride. It makes my back up alarm scream! :) The conversion form 2 bikes to 4 bikes is not fast. I might, as others have noted, add a single tray for roof mounting just to accelerate things. It is very expensive and, again, heavy.

so can this fit both a 2" or 1.25" hitch?...

The NV is either 2" out of the box or 1.25" out of the box, you must choose, neither is adapter compatible, since the NV is the most rugged of the Kuat racks it needs to be for one or the other but not both to make sure weight distribution is sufficient on the hitch!

Just got my NV a few weeks ago and it is undoubtedly the top of the food chain in bike racks! ONLY thing Ive noticed when throwing the roadie on it - the front caliper brake can rub on the rubber mounting arm. Quick piece of painters tape across the brake, which I got in the habit of keeping in the car to protect my frames from inferior bike racks I've owned, problem solved. Simple.

Comment on Jeff Perlman's review »

KUAT NV 2 bike rack.

Familiarity:
I've used it several times

I have enjoyed this rack now for about a month of traveling to and from cyclocross races. Very well thought out rack. The room between each bike is great. Unlike a Thule rack where you will have parts rubbing on other parts. Not the case with the KUAT. The built in repair stand is an amazing idea and super easy to use. Now if they could just dream up a have of securing the repair stand while away from the rack. I have been removing it and putting it in my car. The quick release function of dropping the rack down is super easy to access the hatch back. Don't even need to remove the bikes. It took me about 25 minutes to put this rack together out of the box. Simple to read and understand directions. I do wish the cable lock was a bit longer to work in and out of bike wheels rather than just the bike frame. Made in the USA, and bomb proff. I would recommend this item to any of my friends.

Comment on Tim Az's review »

Best in the Buiz

For a little extra money you get a very well designed and thought-out rack. I actually built my first race MTB on this work stand. The boys at Kuat are very helpful as well. Made in America! This rack kicks ass.